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Education chief offers ridiculous defense of diversity attacks [1]
['Daily Kos Staff']
Date: 2025-06-03
In a combative Senate hearing on Tuesday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon tried to defend her actions as Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut pressed her on policy. The questioning focused on the Trump administration’s contradictory attacks on diversity programs and the legality of withholding federal funds from schools like Harvard University.
“Where in the statute does it give you the ability to cut off federal funding for a university based upon your decision, your determination that they don't have viewpoint diversity?” Murphy asked McMahon, demanding she give a legal basis for her department’s moves against schools with diversity programs.
“Title VI,” McMahon finally answered, citing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs or activities that receive federal funding.
McMahon’s insistence that diversity means “viewpoint diversity” is dubious, considering she has launched investigations into over 50 higher education institutions since March in an effort to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. In a recent CNBC interview, she said that research programs at schools that are “in sync” with the administration’s goals have nothing to fear.
To that end, the Trump administration has also extorted schools like Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, threatening to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding over its own claims of antisemitism linked to student activism.
In April, Trump targeted Harvard’s nearly $9 billion in federal contracts and research grants, demanding that it comply with his administration’s overreaching policies. Harvard rejected the ultimatum, escalating the fight between the administration and the university. The ongoing attacks on higher education have left many scholars uncertain about the future, searching abroad for other options.
Related | Trump starts destroying the Education Department for real this time
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